


Ignorance Is Frustrating

by saruma_aki



Series: Coldflash Week 2017 B [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Coldflash Week 2017, Coldflashweek2017B, Day One, Domestic, Fluff, M/M, Secret Relationship, Tumblr: coldflashweek
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-02
Updated: 2017-10-02
Packaged: 2019-01-07 22:50:31
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,496
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12242163
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saruma_aki/pseuds/saruma_aki
Summary: It's seriously not their fault everyone's oblivious. If anything, it's everyone's fault that they didn't notice, not theirs. They just didn't want to make a grand announcement, but they told them. It's not their fault that everyone can't simply add two plus two and get four.





	Ignorance Is Frustrating

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is a bit late, but here we are with Day One of Coldflash Week 2017 in October. This one was definitely the easiest to write seeing as I've written this kind of fic before. Nonetheless, I hope you all enjoy!

“Is that all you guys need me for?” he called as he tugged his shirt back on, shoving the sweaty STAR Labs shirt and joggers he had just changed out of into his bag to wash when he got the chance. Slinging the bag over his shoulder, he turned to look at the two scientists, carding his fingers through his hair.

“Yeah, that should be it, Barry,” Caitlin responded distractedly, looking over the data they had collected from the recent test.

“Alright,” he gave a small nod, moving towards the exit. “I’m heading out then. Call me if you need anything.”

“Got a hot date,” Cisco asked, tone joking and Barry grinned, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

“Yeah,” he admitted, giving a small laugh, but Cisco’s response was a small snort, waving a hand back at him and telling him to have fun, though the comment sounded more mocking than anything. Shrugging his shoulders, Barry left, tugging out his phone and shooting out a quick text.

‘I’m on my way.’

 

 

 

“Have you ever considered opening your own restaurant?” Barry mumbled around the mouthful of pasta he was devouring, covering his mouth with his hand when he spoke.

Leonard gave a small shrug of his shoulders, scratching his jaw with a finger as he twirled more pasta around his fork, lips pursing slightly. “I’m not a fan of serving people,” Leonard responded with, brow furrowed slightly. “Lisa mentions it once and awhile, though. I’m fine just cooking for you guys, though.”

Barry nodded, swallowing his mouthful and giving Leonard a grin. “Well, you can cook for me whenever you want. It’s like eating food from the gods.”

Leonard gave a snort of laughter in response, grabbing a paper towel and reaching over; wiping the sauce off of Barry’s chin, smirking a little bit in response to the bright grin Barry shot him, leaning back in his chair. “How were the tests today?”

He gave a groan, slumping in his chair, twirling the pasta idly around his fork. “Exhausting, but that was probably because I hadn’t eaten. But,” Barry hurried to continue at the disapproving look Leonard gave him, “that was because there was an emergency this morning and I had to run out, and when I got back I ate the food you gave me and then I didn’t have anything to eat, and Cisco didn’t have any more of the protein bars. But he’s making more, don’t worry.”

“I swear, Barry, you’re going to eat me out of house and home,” Leonard muttered, but his voice was fond and he had a small smile on his face as he tilted his face down into his pasta, taking another bite, shaking his head a little bit at the sheepish laugh Barry gave in response. “Are you going back in tomorrow?”

“Nope,” the male responded, a cheerful lilt to his voice. “I have the day off tomorrow, thankfully. No CSI and no Flash work unless it’s an emergency. Are you going to be around tomorrow? We can go out, maybe?”

“I’ll be around after ten tomorrow morning. I have to help Lisa decorate her new apartment.”

“What happened to the other one?”

“Got tracked,” was the response he gave, lips twisting in a way that showed his annoyance with the situation. “She relocated and she’s fine, but the apartment was completely demolished. Most of her stuff is in the safe houses, though, so not much was there to begin with, but, you know.” Leonard gave a shrug of his shoulders, brow furrowing.

“Why didn’t you call?”

“She wasn’t there when it happened—no one was. We caught them leaving. They broke into a lot of apartments in the building—they didn’t know which one was hers. The cops caught them, though. Other people called them. We just cleared her out of there as fast as possible.”

“Is that why you were gone last week?”

Leonard gave a small nod. “Did I not tell you?”

“You said you were going on a shopping trip with Lisa and Mick,” Barry laughed, watching Leonard’s brow furrow in confusion before he nodded a bit, as if remembering.

“That’s right. Well, now you know.”

“Now I know,” Barry responded with a grin. “What should we do tomorrow then when you come back?”

 

 

 

“You’re early today, Barry,” Joe commented, watching Barry stroll in, coffee in hand, tapping away on his phone. The male’s head shot up, though, at the sound of Joe’s voice and he grinned, walking over.

“Apparently tardiness isn’t accepted,” Barry told him, not noticing the odd look of confusion that twisted Joe’s smile, brow furrowing slightly, but he decided that the comment was just another one of those things he thought Joe would understand even though he didn’t or thought he had mentioned before when he actually hadn’t. The male tapped something into his phone, smile lighting up his features before he tucked it into his pocket. “I got you an apple fritter. You want it?”

“They were out of muffins?”

Barry nodded, pulling out the paper bag from his messenger bag, handing it to him. “Yup, but this is healthier, apparently—and apple fritters are tasty which I did not know until a few days ago, so I have to let you in on this new experience.”

Joe huffed out a laugh, accepting the paper bag. “Well, you better get to work, then.”

“Of course, Detective West,” Barry responded with a grin, giving him a jaunty little salute as he turned to go up the stairs to his lab, sipping his coffee, pulling his phone out of his pocket and grinning at the screen.

Despite how much he loved the boy, Joe couldn’t help but think that sometimes the kid was weird.

 

 

 

“Hey, Joe, I’m not going to be home tonight, okay?” Barry called as he came down the stairs, tugging on his jacket, his messenger bag on his shoulder. He quickly did up the buttons; tugging on his gloves once he was done, heading over to the door, watching Joe turn his head to face him.

“You’re not going to spend the night speeding around, right?” Joe questioned worriedly, brow furrowed, but the expression eased as Barry shook his head in response.

“Nah, not tonight,” he assured, tugging on his boots. “It’s movie night tonight, though, so I’m probably going to sleep over. I’ll see you at work tomorrow, though, okay?”

“Are you going to be on time?” Joe called over teasingly as Barry opened the door.

The male laughed, poking his head back in to give Joe a grin. “I don’t think he’ll let me be late,” was the response he gave before shutting the door, locking it and making his way down the street. Leonard was a parked a few houses down where the motorcycle was shielded by a tree, looking back at Barry over his shoulder as the male made his way over.

“You should really change that bag, you know,” Leonard greeted, answering Barry’s grin with one of his own as Barry slung a leg over the seat, twisting his bag to sit on his lap, resting against his abdomen and Leonard’s back.

“I will, eventually—maybe.”

Leonard gave a small snort, turning to face the front as Barry pulled on his helmet and wrapped his arms around his waist, revving the engine.

“Are you ever going to let me drive this thing?”

“When I see you have a license for it, maybe,” Leonard responded, and Barry laughed, Leonard feeling the slight shift of Barry’s chest as he moved with the sound. “Ready?”

“Yup,” Barry called back, arms tightening slightly around Leonard’s waist as the male guided the motorcycle onto the road and took off down the street.

 

 

 

“Mr. Allen,” Captain Singh greeted, a small, confused smile twisting on his lips, “good morning.”

“Morning,” Barry replied, giving a small nod of his head and a smile in greeting, one hand occupied holding his coffee and the other holding onto the new lunch bag Leonard had given him, large enough to fit a meal big enough to last Barry the entire day.

He honestly had the sweetest boyfriend ever—though he was also pretty sure Leonard was two seconds away from burning his messenger bag if it meant Barry would buy a new one.

“You’ve been doing well with showing up on time, recently,” the captain remarked and Barry gave a small laugh, shoulders shrugging a little bit.

“I have a much more effective alarm now.”

The captain nodded, smile still on his face but less confused now. “Well, thank goodness for that.” The man made to walk away but paused, looking back at Barry. “I need that report on the Simone case by noon today, by the way.”

“You’ll definitely have it, sir.”

“Great.” With that, the captain left to go do whatever it was he had been originally planning to do, leaving Barry to make his way up to his lab and get started on working, shooting a quick text to Leonard.

‘I think Captain Singh is mildly in love with you for getting me out of bed so early.’

‘He should be. You’re almost impossible to wake up’ is the response he received in return, making a grin curl on his lips.

 

 

 

“I should get an award for how much I put up with when it comes to you,” Leonard muttered, looking at Barry exasperatedly as the man tried to figure out which two colors worked best together and would look good on Iris.

“Come on,” Barry whined, turning to face him with a pout. “It’s not my fault that I suck at Christmas shopping.” He turned his attention back to the clothes in front of him, flicking through the different tops and dresses, eventually throwing his hands up into the air in exasperation. “I should just get her a necklace.”

“But then that brings up the question of what color looks best on her, which gem would suit her best, what color, the emotional and spiritual meaning behind it, how it relates to her, how much you’re willing to spend on it, which metal to choose.”

Barry glared at Leonard in response, lips pulled back into a faint snarl, expression sullen. Leonard couldn’t help but grin in response, walking over with a resigned sigh, putting a hand on Barry’s shoulder. “Pull up a picture of her and let me see what I can do.”

The picture Barry showed him was a self-taken one of Barry and Iris at the park a few days ago, smiling brightly at the lens of the camera.

“Will this work?”

“Yeah, it’s good,” Leonard responded, plucking Barry’s phone out of his hand. “But this store isn’t. Come on—we need to go somewhere else.”

 

 

 

Barry loved Leonard for a good many reasons, but seeing the delight on Iris’ face as she opened up Barry’s presents to her to reveal a stunning red blazer, a congratulations for her the attention her newest article was garnering, and then the gold earrings that were shaped like small daggers, a defense tool since Iris wasn’t exactly opposed to putting herself in harm’s way while doing her job, made Barry fall in love with Leonard just a little bit more.

“With the earrings, see how it has the circle here connected to the leg,” Barry said, holding the earring, Iris leaning closer next to him to see. “You can just tug off the dagger bit while leaving the earring in—kind of like a magician’s rings. So, you don’t have to go through the hassle of taking off the entire earring if you’re in trouble.”

“Thank you, Barry. It really means a lot,” Iris breathed out, enveloping him in a warm hug that made his insides equally as warm.

“No problem, Iris,” he responded, giving her a bright grin. “I have to go to the bathroom really quickly, so you guys just keep going without me. I’ll be right back.”

Iris and Joe nodded in response and Barry went upstairs, tugging his phone out of his pocket and dialing Leonard’s number, shutting the bathroom door behind him and flicking the lights on. When the call went through, he couldn’t stop the smile from rising on his face as he heard the distinct sounds of what seemed to be things crashing in the background.

“Merry Christmas, Len.”

“Merry Christmas,” Leonard responded, his voice soft and warm, the familiar drawl in place but oh so sweet. “How’re things going?”

“Good,” Barry grinned, leaning against the sink, tapping a finger against the counter. “I wanted to tell you that Iris loved the gifts.”

“Oh, did she?” Leonard hummed, and there was another crash in the background before what sounded like an alarm went off. “Which one of you two set the tree on fire?” Barry heard Leonard call behind him and he grinned, listening to the familiar, albeit faint, whirr of the cold gun that he imagined Leonard was using to put the fire out. “Honestly, we’re in a forest—try not to burn it down.”

“I see your Christmas is going swell,” Barry laughed and he heard Leonard sigh on the other end of the line, could imagine him rubbing his temples and looking upwards as if the sky had the answers.

“I asked them what they wanted to do and they said they wanted to go hiking. So we’re hiking,” Leonard responded, but he sounded drained. “But we’re heading back now and Lisa just shoved Mick down a hill and then went after him and set a tree on fire.”

“Wow, how did that happen?”

“To be honest with you, I wasn’t paying attention.”

Barry snorted, fiddling with the hand towel off to the side, gnawing on his bottom lip. He wished he could spend Christmas with Leonard, but the man didn’t celebrate it and insisted Barry spend it with his family since they did celebrate it and it would probably just be a bit uncomfortable if Leonard had been there.

But Barry couldn’t help wanting to spend the holiday with Len regardless of whether or not the guy celebrated it because it didn’t matter to him. Spending time with Leonard was just something he wanted to do constantly, no matter what the occasion.

“Why don’t you come over tomorrow,” Leonard asked, snapping Barry out of his reverie and bringing a bright smile onto Barry’s face.

“Really,” he asked, shifting on his feet a little bit.

“I’m asking, aren’t I? I’m planning on making churros.”

“You know I’m in—especially if you’re cooking.”

“Yes, well, it’ll mainly be baking. New Years is coming, after all,” Leonard responded, and Barry could hear the sound of the wind on Leonard’s end of the line and his soft breath, hear Lisa’s laughter and Mick’s gruff chuckles and huffs in the background as they presumably climbed back up the hill they had both gone down. “So, I’ll see you then?”

“Definitely,” Barry confirmed, unable to force away the smile on his lips, shoulders hunched up by his ears. “Do you have to go now?”

“Yeah,” Leonard responded. “We’re all hungry, so we’re trying to make it back to the car quickly and it’s icy.”

“Just your style, then, huh,” Barry laughed and he heard Leonard breathe out an amused huff of laughter.

“Kind of, yeah,” Leonard told him, amusement coloring his voice. “I’ll text you when we get back to the city, okay? Love you.”

Barry’s cheeks hurt from how big his smile was, head bowed bashfully, supporting himself on the sink, his cheeks colored a light pink. “Love you, too.”

 

 

 

“Barry,” Leonard blinked at him in surprise, leaning against the doorjamb, eyebrows furrowed, “what are you doing here?”

“You didn’t get my text?”

Leonard frowned bit more, straightening and opening the door wider, ushering Barry in and locking the door behind him. “I probably didn’t notice it vibrating,” Leonard responded, leading Barry into the kitchen, grabbing his phone off of the table and clicking it on. “Yup, that was it. West is letting you spend New Year’s Eve with me?”

“And New Years,” Barry added, a smile on his face and he watched the corners of Leonard’s lips quirk up, walking over and pulling him into a soft kiss.

“How did you manage to pull that off,” Leonard asked, his lips brushing against Barry’s with every words and Barry breathed in deeply, smile widening. Leonard always smelt of whatever baked good he had been making with the underlying smell of mint.

“Told him that I ditched you on Christmas, so I should hang out with you on New Years and New Years Eve and he caved.”

“Sneaky, Barry,” Leonard chuckled, pecking his lips. “It seems someone forgot to mention that I don’t celebrate Christmas.”

“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” Barry laughed, pressing their lips together again in a chaste kiss. “So, what do you want to do?”

“You’re supposed to clean before New Years, so I have to finish that before we do anything fun.”

“Have you done the laundry yet?”

“I have a load in right now. I have to clean the bathroom, though.”

Barry nodded, tugging Leonard in that direction. “I’ll clean the tub and you do the sink and the toilet?”

“Sounds like a plan.”

 

 

 

“Barry,” Joe called and he poked his head out of his room to look down the stairs and meet Joe’s gaze, “come down here. We have to talk.”

“Did something happen?” Barry called nervously, hurrying down the stairs and following Joe into the kitchen where he and Iris were sitting, Caitlin and Cisco also perched in their own chairs. “Hey, guys,” he greeted, confusion coloring his voice and twisting his expression. “What’s going on?”

“We need to talk about your ‘going out’ times.”

“My what,” Barry spluttered, brow furrowing, sitting in the chair Joe motioned for him to take.

“Barry, you go out constantly,” Iris told him, her eyes concerned, “and it’s not to hang out with Cisco and Caitlin because we’ve asked them if you were with them and you weren’t.”

“We don’t know where you keep disappearing to, or with whom,” Caitlin added, her hands folded neatly in her lap, but her fingers were fiddling with each other.

Barry blinked, staring at all of their concerned expressions before letting out a small snort. “Are you guys being serious right now?”

“This isn’t something to laugh about,” Cisco muttered, frown growing in severity as Barry snickered behind his hand.

“I’m sorry, I’m sorry—but seriously? I told you guys that I’m seeing someone. That means we go out on dates and stuff,” Barry laughed. “What did you guys think I meant when I told you guys?”

“We didn’t think you were serious!”

It was too funny, if Barry was being honest with himself. He had told them constantly that he was going out with someone every time he was asked. He stayed over at Leonard’s house more than once and he had dinner with him at least twice a week. What did they think he had been doing?

“Who’s your girlfriend?” Iris asked finally, frowning as Barry continued to snicker sporadically, still reeling from the humor of the situation.

“Boyfriend,” Barry corrected automatically, coughing slightly and wiping at his eyes to make sure he hadn’t cried or something. “And I told you guys that I’m going out with Len.”

“And when are we going to meet this ‘Len’?” Joe questioned, leaning forward a bit.

Barry could only shrug in response, rubbing the back of his neck. “That’s more up to him than it is to me. He’s out of town for the next two weeks, but I can call him later and see if we can set a date for a family dinner or something.”

 

 

 

“They want to what?”

“Meet you,” Barry repeated, chin propped on his hand as he looked at the image of Leonard on the screen, watching his brows knit together in confusion, lips pursing.

“Why? They already know me.”

He shrugged, smiling a little bit. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s like a truce thing, ‘water under the bridge’ and all that?”

Leonard nodded, a small sigh escaping him as he leaned back in the chair he was sitting in, scrubbing his hands over his face. He looked over at something off screen, calling over to, presumably, Mick and Lisa. “Stop playing with the coffee machine. If you break it, you bought it. Got it?” There was a light laugh and an amused grunt in response to his words and he rolled his eyes before returning his attention to Barry who was looking at him with a fond smile and soft eyes. “When would the dinner be?”

“When you get back, obviously,” Barry mumbled, looking at the calendar on his phone. “I was thinking maybe the Friday after you get back? That way if things don’t go well, I can just hide out at your place for the weekend,” Barry told him, setting down his phone with a cheeky grin.

“Do you expect things to not go well?”

“I, honestly, don’t know what to expect—especially since Cisco and Caitlin are coming, too. It’ll be interesting, to say the least.”

“That we can count on,” Leonard sighed, tugging on his earlobe. “Alright, the Friday I get back—sounds like a plan.”

Barry nodded his head in confirmation, smiling at Leonard who returned it with a slight upward quirk of his lips. “I’ll talk to you soon, okay, Len?”

“Alright, be safe,” was the response he received, making his smile morph into a cheeky grin.

“Aren’t I always?”

“Never.”

 

 

 

By the time Friday rolled around, Barry had kind of been hoping that it had been forgotten about—not by Leonard, but by Joe. It wasn’t that he didn’t want them to meet and for the hatchet to be buried and stuff. It was just that he didn’t want to entertain the possibility of things not going well. He really liked Leonard, and he liked how balanced their relationship was, how they were both assured in it, how Leonard already knew his identity as the Flash and didn’t care, didn’t mind him being a superhero.

He didn’t want to lose that or for it to be damaged by a dinner gone wrong.

“You’re more worried for this dinner than I am,” Leonard mused, watching Barry flutter around his apartment, his words garnering a weak glare from the speedster.

“Of course I’m worried! I don’t want you to be uncomfortable, and I don’t want them to be uncomfortable, and I want it to go well. This is like a truce dinner and I want that truce to be able to happen,” Barry moaned, flopping down on Leonard’s couch finally, face buried in one of the throw pillows.

“Barry,” Leonard murmured from above him and Barry let out a string on unintelligible words into the pillow, voice muffled, and he felt Leonard’s fingers carding through his hair, “it’ll be fine. And if it doesn’t go fine, it’s not as if I have to interact with them. I haven’t encountered them once since we got together. Who says I have to after this?”

Barry twisted, flipping himself so he was on his back and able to look up at Leonard who was looking down at him, leaning on the back of the couch. “I guess you’re right.”

“Of course I am. Now, get up, we’re going to be late.”

“The reservations are for seven. It’s only six thirty.”

“And I want to be early,” Leonard responded, rounding the couch and pulling Barry off of it by his ankle, smirking at the indignant squawk Barry let out as he fell on his rear. “Let’s go.”

 

 

 

Barry didn’t know whether to be amused or not as he watched the color drain out of everyone’s faces as they approached the table, interrupting the conversation Leonard and Barry had been having about a new clothing brand and how awful its options for women were.

“The jeans don’t even have functioning pockets,” Leonard had told him, brow furrowed.

“Seriously,” Barry spluttered and his eyes were wide. “The hell do you do with jeans that don’t have pockets? That’s basically leggings and leggings are completely impractical.”

“Tell me about it. You should have seen Lisa’s face. She was livid. I’ve had to sew in pockets for every pair of pants she bought. It was ridiculous,” Leonard muttered, shaking his head. He looked up, blinking and nudging Barry’s ankle under the table as he looked at the four people slowly approaching the table.

And Barry now was staring back at them, a tentative smile on his face.

“Hey, guys,” Barry laughed, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “I’m glad you could make it.”

“Barry,” Caitlin began, but stopped herself as her gaze flicked to Leonard to cocked a curious eyebrow, lips pulled into his usual smirk, her lips pursing slightly, eyes quickly diverting her attention to something else, hoping someone else would pick up the torch and run with it.

The four slowly sat down, none of their eyes leaving the duo, and Barry instinctively grabbing Leonard’s hand and beginning to play with his fingers, a little something to distract himself from the awkwardness of the situation.

“What’s Snart doing here?” Cisco finally blurted after the waiter had come and handed them their menus and asked what they wanted to drink.

Now it was Barry’s turn to blink and stare in surprise, jaw actually dropping, fingers gripping Leonard’s hard. His throat worked, jaw flexing, trying to get the words out but nothing escaped until he managed to choke out a warbled, “are you serious?”

Everyone looked pretty serious.

“I told you guys who I was dating.”

He felt Leonard’s fingers twitch in his hand and he looked over to see the man’s eyes twinkling with mirth, the corners of his lips tight with amusement.

“We didn’t think you were serious,” Cisco responded, sending Leonard a glare that seemed to only increase Leonard’s level of amusement, thumb rubbing over the side of Barry’s index finger gently, letting his nail scrape against the skin lightly.

“Do you guys take anything I say seriously?” Barry whined, slumping in his chair.

They were silent.

“Right, let’s just order,” he grumbled, feeling a bit petulant, propping his menu up so that they couldn’t see his face and grinning as Leonard proceeded to mimic him, a silent show of support that made his insides feel warm and fuzzy. It was always good to know that your partner would have your back even when you were being petty.

“I don’t think they’re ready to make a truce, Barry,” Leonard whispered to him, leaning closer, their heads hidden behind their menus and Barry sighed mournfully, reluctantly agreeing.

“You’re probably right. We’ll just get through this dinner and then we’ll go back to your place.”

Leonard gave him a small nod in response, brushing a soft kiss on his cheek.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed!
> 
> You can find me over on instagram ( @saruma_aki )
> 
> Don't be afraid to leave me some comments down below on your thoughts <3


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